Chevron Developer's Sunset Clause Attempt Foiled by Supreme Court

A Supreme Court of Queensland ruling has handed off-the-plan buyers a significant victory against a developer attempting to cancel their contracts using sunset clauses. The decision affects three buyers who entered into agreements with Chevron Apartments Pty Ltd, a corporate entity associated with Melbourne-based property giant Bensons Property Group, for units in the 40-storey Chevron One development on the Gold Coast.

The court battle began when the developer attempted to cancel original buyer contracts signed in early 2021, citing sunset dates that had expired prior to final settlement. However, Justice Paul Freeburn ruled that the developer 'must' establish the Scheme, register the Plan, and effect Settlement under the contract by the Sunset Date, creating a strict, mandatory legal deadline rather than a soft target.

The buyers' contracts remain 100 per cent valid and binding, with Justice Freeburn stating that 'nothing in the contracts justifies the court permitting a party to rely on their own breach of contract.' The developer's claims of pandemic supply chain disruptions and jumps in body corporate levy estimates were also rejected by the judge.

This decision marks the latest in a nationwide crackdown on developers attempting to enforce sunset clauses to terminate off-the-plan contracts. It follows another Queensland Supreme Court ruling in 2025 that slapped a luxury developer with a $6.1 million damages penalty for wrongfully terminating a buyer's $4.2 million penthouse deal under a sunset clause.